‘They were in the last stage of plan ning,” ex-prosecutor Chris Christie said, after five Muslim immigrants were nabbed last year for plotting to kill soldiers at Fort Dix. “They had training, they had maps and I think they were very close to moving on this.”

Their conviction yesterday of conspiracy could help ensure that they never fulfill their blood-drenched dreams.

All five face life behind bars – a sentence that, if anything, seems generous for terrorists bent on murdering Americans and wreaking havoc.

It’s easy, after all, to forget – more than seven years after 9/11 – that Americans continue to face a dire threat from anti-American, Islamist butchers.

Both thugs overseas and some already living here.

The guilty verdicts send another message, too: While liberals are often too reluctant to employ military force to fight terror, there are cases where traditional law-enforcement techniques are appropriate – such as this one.

“This is what law-enforcement is supposed to do in the post-9/11 era – stay one step ahead of those who are attempting to cause harm to innocent American citizens,” Christie said last year.

Of course, that means granting agents all the tools they need to do their job – like maximum latitude to conduct wiretapping and other surveillance.

Americans will soon know President-elect Obama’s position on this. But in forging his views, he’d do well to keep in mind plots like this, aimed at Fort Dix soldiers. And remember what’s at stake.